week in review

Perhaps you, like us, spent the week watching the live feed of the world's longest lab experiment, waiting for the next drop of pitch to fall. If so, you missed out on some pretty groovy stuff. Luckily, we've rounded up this week's top Crave stories for you to enjoy right here.

• Thanks to the ingenuity of two Canadian teens, Lego has boldly gone where no little plastic man has gone before.

• Do robots have souls? Find out in this recently unearthed short film by Jim Henson from 1963.

• All of a sudden, we feel like taking a trip to Helsinki's airport.

• Now up on the ones and twos, DJ tree rings.

• These laptop bags look like cartoons! … Read more

Apple's celebration of record earnings was tempered this week by a grim report about working conditions at one of its component suppliers.

Obliterating its own earnings estimates, Apple reported quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and profits of $13.06 billion.

"We're thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs," Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said in a statement. "Apple's momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline." •  Apple shares soar following historic earnings announcement •  Apple's biggest quarter by the numbers … Read more

The Internet was up in arms this week protesting SOPA, PIPA, and the sudden takedown of Megaupload. At times, things got downright nuclear, so we can understand if you missed out on some Crave-y goodness. That's why we've rounded up a few highlights for you to enjoy this weekend.

• Some couples commemorate their love with romantic getaways and nice dinners; other couples get shrink-wrapped and pose for pictures.

• If vacuum-sealed humans isn't your idea of art, perhaps you'll find more beauty in these X-ray images.

• A wary Rich Brown goes hands on with the new Alienware X51 gaming desktop.

• Ding dong. "Who's there?" "The future." … Read more

week in review Some of the Internet's most popular destinations launched an experiment in political activism this week by urging their users to protest a pair of Hollywood-backed copyright bills in Congress.

Wikipedia's English-language pages went black at 9 p.m. PT Wednesday, with a splash page saying "the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet." The online encyclopedia's blackout, intended to precede a Senate floor vote on the legislation set for next week, was scheduled to last 24 hours.

Earlier today, Senate leaders announced they would … Read more

week in review As promised, Microsoft delivered its final opening keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show--and had little to say.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did a lot of shouting and talking, but didn't say anything too substantive in his final keynote address, opting instead to run through a number of its upcoming--but previously announced--projects, from Windows Phone to Windows 8. The company, however, did say it would bring the Xbox 360 peripheral Kinect to Windows on February 1, and Ballmer said the motion-sensor device has sold 18 million units, offering up just that little nugget.

Microsoft, which has … Read more

Perhaps you've been too busy watching the clouds pass by on your office's luminous ceiling to keep up with Crave. Not to worry, though. The silver lining is that we've rounded up this week's hottest stories all in one place for your viewing pleasure.

• Santa forgot to give out Steve Jobs action figures this year, but maybe it's because he didn't want to be on Apple's naughty list.

• Umm, what exactly is in the Jedi and Dark Vador burgers?

• If you pray to the god of file sharing, it might be time to move to Sweden.

• Behold, the retro-futurist HP Envy 15.

• The PumPing Tap gives plugs the boot when not in use.

• In this week's Low Latency, we go inside Barnes & Noble's head. … Read more

week in review Yahoo unveiled its new chief executive this week, naming PayPal President Scott Thompson to become its new leader and a board member starting on Monday.

Thompson said in a statement that he wants to "deliver Yahoo's next era of success" by dealing with both Yahoo advertisers and users. Thompson will also have the job of rebuilding Yahoo--potentially with some of its parts sold off.

Thompson previously served as senior vice president and chief technology officer at PayPal, eBay's online payment service. Before that, he was the executive vice president who ran technology development … Read more

Too busy learning new pickup lines from robots this week to keep up with Crave? Here's what you missed while you were studying Daniel123's winning ways.

• Is a 311-mph train fast enough for you?

• Never has the world seen a cuter superhero.

• This week's Low Latency: Times change, and so do people.

• Your brand new camera's out of the box. Now what? … Read more

week in review The "Dump GoDaddy Day" message registered with the domain registrar.

GoDaddy, targeted by online activists in response to its enthusiasm for a pair of Hollywood-backed copyright bills, finally denounced the legislation in response to a scheduled boycott. Warren Adelman, the company's chief executive, said that "GoDaddy opposes SOPA," short for the Stop Online Piracy Act, which is facing a House of Representatives committee vote next month.

The idea of boycotting GoDaddy began with a protest thread on Reddit and was aided by Jimmy Wales' announcement last week that "Wikipedia domain names … Read more